The present invention relates generally to vehicle suspension systems and, in an embodiment described herein, more particularly provides a suspension system having a reduced weight arm construction.
In the art of suspension systems used in trucks designed for transporting payloads from one location to another it is increasingly important to reduce the tare weight of the suspension systems. In this manner, the payload transported by the truck can be increased, or the gross weight of the truck and payload may be reduced, thereby providing for increased efficiency and economy in the trucking operation.
One possible option for reducing the weight of a suspension system is to make components of the suspension system out of lighter materials, such as composites, aluminum, titanium, etc. Unfortunately, such lighter materials may be inappropriate for some components (such as an axle, etc.) which are subjected to large stresses in operation, or it may be appropriate to make one component out of one material and another component out of another material where the components must later be permanently secured to each other.
If, as in the past, these components were made of steel, then it is a fairly straightforward matter of welding the components to each other. However, if one component is made of aluminum and the other component is made of steel, then the components cannot be welded directly to each other. Other dissimilar metal alloys likewise cannot be welded directly to each other.
Therefore, it may be seen that improved methods of constructing reduced weight suspension systems are needed. It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide such improvements in reduced weight suspension systems.